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1. i can do this! after outlining everything i need to do, it doesn’t seem so bad. in fact it’s very methodical and easy to follow and i can do it.

2. oh my god its happening. its the end for me. i might as well be dead. everything is due now. i was put on this earth to suffer. i have two essays due in 45 seconds and all ive eaten today is half a goldfish cracker. i can only feel pain

This guide is aimed at non-native French-speakers who have a solid grasp on grammar and can read and understand spoken French with ease. Often, when you get to this point, it’s difficult to know how to keep improving, so I’ve made this guide based on my experience. 

Disclaimer: This guide is based on “Standard” Parisian French. This is the dialect most people learn in school and most resources are based off of. I recognize that all other dialects of French are just as important and will post more on them in the future. 

PRONUNCIATION

1. Once you reach proficiency in French, it’s a good time to practice your accent. You probably already have a decent accent, but wouldn’t it be sweet to sound like a native? To practice I usually watch French youtubers and pause and repeat after them. You can also use Forvo to isolate specific words you want to practice. Also, here’s a good guide on how to pronounce the French r which is difficult for many native speakers of English. 

VOCABULARY

You probably have a pretty good vocabulary. You know the words for most things you come across in everyday life. But what if you are in a situation where you need to know how to say mushy? These kind of words are good to know to increase your fluency.

1. Reading is a good way to find words you don’t know. I usually underline words I don’t know while I read, and look them up later. That way I don’t interrupt my reading. 

2. Think to yourself in French. Make a note when you can’t find a word for something you’re thinking about and look it up later. 

CULTURAL FLUENCY

1. Usage - The rules we learn from textbooks are based on “correct” grammatical French. In reality, the native usage of words differs from what we are taught. For example, the French shorten many words just like we often call a picture a pic in English, or a telephone a phone. Contractions, filler words can also help make you sound more natural. 

2. Proverbs/Sayings - These are also important to know and will help you sound like a native: proverbs, colloquial expressions, quotations from movies, euphemisms, and more colloquial expressions. 

3. Slang - While you may not use all the slang you learn (I’m not sure what might be considered appropriative), it will greatly enhance your comprehension of spoken French: phrases, words derived from Arabic, words for money, verlan, swears, and expressions with foutre. 

have 3 achievable goals a day: having a laundry list of things to do everyday is super unrealistic, and you just end up feeling bad about yourself because you didn’t accomplish your goals for the day.

leave your sundays open: i love sundays because they’re my day to chill out and catch up on school work that i wasn’t able to finish during the week.

recognize when you’re at your emotional limits: forcing yourself to get work done when you are unable to comprehend your study material does not benefit anyone.

learn how to say no: people will ask you for your time and it will stretch you to the limit, whether it be at your job, in your extracurriculars, or in your personal life. know when to step back and say no.

take care of yourself physically: take breaks, go for walks, shower regularly, get enough sleep, eat healthy, see your friends

celebrate your accomplishments: go out to eat with friends after a big exam, indulge in a night off after a busy week with some netflix and wine

make a study plan beforehand: it can be daunting to see how much work you need to put in to a class or task beforehand, but this allows you to spread your work evenly so you don’t become overwhelmed.

learn how to ask for help: it is very rare that people make it through school, whether it be high school or university or any graduate program, without needing the advice of others or just a kind soul to vent to. find that person.

never forget your hobbies: you will need things that keep you sane. if you love to play music, write, play volleyball, or cook, make you sure you don’t lose these things. they will become your escape when times get tough.

after yesterday’s ask i realised that lots of you didn’t know either how lax french is nowadays. so here’s my own little guide. remember this is spoken, private french and doesn’t apply to formal situations.

- we don’t use négations. we say ‘je sais pas’ (i don’t know), ‘il en veut pas’ (he doesn’t want it), on a pas à le faire (we don’t have to do it),

- speaking of which, we don’t really use ‘nous’ either. we use ‘on’ instead. so ‘we’ve arrived’ becomes ‘on est arrivé-es’ or ‘shall we go’ becomes ‘on y va?’,

- speaking of which, our questions are often affirmative sentences with a question mark (understand : a high-pitched tone) at the end : ‘are you coming’ is ‘(est-ce que) tu viens?’ and ‘do you want one’ is ‘(est-ce que) t’en veux un-e?’,

- speaking of which, we chew words. when followed by words starting with a consonant, personal pronouns (in my example sujet and COD) can lose their last letter : ‘i’m telling you!’ is ‘j’te l’dis!’ (or, actually, ‘ch’te l’dis’), or ‘plus’ (more, anymore) becomes ‘pu’ (chais pu), ‘puis’ (then) becomes ‘pi’ (et pi c’est tout)…,

- speaking of which, we’re lazy. so ‘je’ can be ‘che’ (chais pas), ‘il’ can be ‘y’ (look, there’s a cat : r’garde, y’a un chat!) and grunt : lots of ‘euh’ (uh), ‘ah’, ‘bah’ (: hesitation), ‘ben’ (: well), ‘hein’ (: tf?) and ‘rhooo’ or ‘rhaaa’ (: displeasure) ; we often start sentences with ‘but’ : ‘mais tu saoules!’ (you’re annoying),

- speaking of which, on top of dropping négations, we can drop pronouns, even though it’s a bit rarer. ‘you’re being a pain in my ass’ should be ‘tu me fais chier’ because that person is annoying you specifically, but we can say ‘tu fais chier’, maybe to make it universal, after all we are dramatic,

- speaking of which, we swear a lot and are quite sarcastic, use irony very often. when someone managed to do something we find easy, we’ll go with something like “aaah, putain, t’es un as, toi!” (you’re a real champ),

- speaking of which, we repeat (personal) pronouns - at the beginning or the end of our sentences. when asked a question, we’re likely to answer with ‘moi, j’aime bien les films d’action’ aka ‘me, i prefer action movies’ and go ‘qu’est-ce qu’il en penserait, lui?’ : ‘what would he think, him?’ (tonic pronouns, careful!),

- speaking of which, we like to use a mode called conditionnel to indicate a wish or an hypothesis. so lots of ‘si j’avais su, j’aurais dit oui’ (had i known, i’d have said yes), ‘j’aimerais bien pouvoir-’ (i wish i could-), etc,

- speaking of which, we add useless words : bien (j’aimerais bien), petit (un petit peu : a little bit), très (c’est très vrai : it’s very true), trop (je ne sais trop : i don’t really know), ça (c’est quoi, ça? : what’s this, this?)…

hey guys!! i figured i would make a post about the little phrases i picked up while studying in france.

en fait- in fact; used in pretty much every sentence who knows why

ça marche- that works

c'est bon- it’s good

ouais- yeah

bahhhh oui- well yes

bien sûr- of course

c'est comme ça- it’s like that; said after any inconvenience

je prends- i take/am taking; instead of saying “je voudrais” at cafés or restaurants

euh/et oui/alors/donc: basically the french version of “um”

quand même- really; might be used more than en fait if that’s possible

c'est pas grave- it’s not serious

c'est pas grave quand même- the french say this about everything

chai pas- i don’t know; the shortened version of “je ne sais pas”

bonne chance/bon courage- good luck

la vache/vachement- this is an interesting one cause it has a lot of different meanings. “la vache” by itself can just be an exclamation whereas in reference to someone can be an insult. “vachement” is a way to show excitement

third day of the semester:

These are a few things that i think might be relevant to language learners that i don’t think I’ve seen on langblr! At the end of the day it’s whatever works for you, but i hope these might be helpful 💙

🗼pouvoir, vouloir and aller (to be able, to want and to go) are really useful verbs to learn confidently. If you want to use a verb you don’t know how to conjugate, you can often follow one of these verbs conjugated with the infinitive to express something similar. It’s always better that than guessing a conjugation!

🗼watch videos of french people speaking english! Most french people will still impose a little bit of french pronunciation even while speaking really good english, and this highlights french pronunciation that you wouldn’t notice in a person speaking fluent french. 

🗼for me, reading simple YA novels written originally in french is actually more beneficial than translated english books that I’m familiar with. This will prevent you from reading by assumption/context/memory. Also, french books tend to be more culturally relevant, and include phrasing and idioms that are more typically french.

🗼contradiction of my last point, but try watching shows originally in your native language with french audio and subtitles. For some reason, it’s far easier for me to understand and i know many people struggle with listening to french. Netflix often has the option of picking the  language of your show, i would highly recommend this if you struggle to understand french films/shows. 

🗼quizlet is the most effective method of learning vocab I’ve found! For me, writing out flashcards takes a long time, and typing in the answers solidifies spelling better than just repeating the words. 

🗼if you’re someone who struggles with pronunciation, some people find it helpful to have someone who doesn’t speak the language read aloud in it, as it highlights typical errors that a speaker of your language will make (and will probably make you feel good about yourself lbh)